1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method for providing current weather warnings and alerts to vehicle occupants. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a weather information system that collects, formats, and broadcasts weather data to vehicles.
2. Description of Related Art
Navigation systems for determining a route from a start point to a destination point are well known in the art. In addition, navigation systems having capabilities for determining the geographic position of a reference point are also well known in the art (e.g., a Global Positioning System (GPS) or a self-contained system having distance and bearing sensors). As an example, a commonly used navigation system allows a user (or driver) of a vehicle to enter a destination place into the navigation system. The navigation system then looks up an appropriate route from an original point (using geographic positioning capabilities) to the destination point in a road map database (e.g., the route may be a route having the shortest distance from the start point to the destination, one that would take the vehicle the least time, or some other route), and guides the user to the destination point along the searched route through a visual display or vocal guide.
Recently, navigation systems have been improved to provide and utilize vehicle-related or geographically-relevant, real time traffic information in guiding the user to his/her destination, described in further detail in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/093,919, filed Mar. 29, 2005, titled Display Method and System for a Vehicle Navigation System, the disclosure of which is incorporated in its entirety herein by reference. However, there remains a need for systems and methods for collecting, utilizing, and providing vehicle-related, real time weather information and alerts to the user. In addition, there is a need for a vehicle navigation system that receives, processes, and displays real time weather alerts and information to the user.
Navigations systems have also recently been improved to allow for the broadcasting of data such as traffic information to a vehicle via a broadcast network such as XM Satellite Radio, described in further detail in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/266,879, filed Nov. 4, 2005, titled Data Broadcast Method for Traffic Information, the disclosure of which is incorporated in its entirety herein by reference. However, bandwidth and data transfer capacity over the broadcast network is limited, making conservation of bandwidth in future applications a necessity of design.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide a vehicle navigation system that receives and processes real time information (e.g., traffic, weather, and other geographically-relevant or vehicle-related information) in guiding the user to his/her destination while making efficient use of limited broadcast bandwidth resources.